From Russia With Vengance
by Iwonerd
Summary: Andris Gregorovich is avenging the death of his beloved brother, Yassen. When Andris drives Alex Rider into a mission in San Francisco, an unlikely reunion will take place.
1. From Russia With LoveAgain

**Chapter 1: From Russia With Love…. Again**

Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is welcome.

Rain pelted the windows of a very polished black Mercedes-Benz, the color of a vehicle returning from a funeral. How convenient for such a depressing day. Andris Gregorovich was grieving the death of his beloved brother Yassen. Yassen was considered the black-sheep of his eight siblings, but to Andris, Yassen was someone to look up to. However, when he was pursing a "career" in being an assassin, Andris and Yassen hit some rocks in their relationship. In his endless pleas to Yassen, Andris described how dangerous and illegal being an assassin would be, but Yassen just ignored and he lost all contact with family never to speak with them again.

"This better be important, my brother is dead," Andris said very rudely to the short and stout man he thought he was supposed to meet with.

"Good morning to you, too, Andris," the man said, "Care for a drink".

"How do you know me?" Andris demanded.

"I was a dear friend of Yassen, and he spoke very highly of you," the man replied, "By the way, I am Sergei Lontikov". Sergei offered his hand and Andris shook it reluctantly.

"Please excuse my rudeness, I haven't spoken to Yassen in fifteen years and I never will have the chance again," Andris said, "He was the only one of my siblings who was open and honest."

"He told me you were very close to him," Sergei said, "He told me another thing, you got revenge at every opportunity, and I am giving you one with open arms."

There was a chill in Andris' body, telling him there was something very interesting about Yassen's death.

"What happened to him?" Andris said. His voice was cracking up. Andris knew no details about Yassen's death.

"The British M-16 sent out a spy on a mission involving Yassen, in a deliberate attempt, Yassen was killed in a plane crash by a spy", Sergei said.

"How did you get this information?" Andris asked, "This wasn't illegal, was it? I am really not suited for illegal business."

"Andris, hardly anything Yassen and I did or do is legal, so that is why the M-16 sent someone to kill him", Sergei said.  
Andris was getting infuriated that he didn't try harder to keep Yassen away from the dangerous business that brought a sudden end to his life. "WHO KILLED HIM!"

"A young boy by the name of Alex Rider", Sergei replied.

"I knew Yassen was going to get in trouble in this nonsense", Andris said calming done, but still a tone of vengeance in his voice.

"And I know how to avenge his death, so listen to me carefully," Sergei said, "I can arrange a flight to San Francisco for you."

"San Francisco?" Andris asked dumbfounded, "I thought the M-16 was British."

"Oh, just listen", Sergei said, "there are a few little details about San Francisco that will have Mr. Rider drawn over."


	2. San Francisco

**Chapter 2: San Francisco**

Alex Rider was relieved that he could finally practice football without being interrupted by an M-16 executive. He had been through a lot for a boy of only fifteen years of age, but now it was time to relax and enjoy his favorite sport and become just another regular kid at Brookland.

"Alex! You're in at Forward!" Alex's coach shouted.

Alex just nodded and ran on to the field like a giddy school boy meeting a professional football player.

Practice went on and Alex scored, assisted, blocked, and guarded, his very heart out, like there was no chance for him to play football again.

"Great job Alex!" His coach said at the end of practice, "See you Thursday."

"Bye, Mr. Haas!" Alex exclaimed. It was the first time in three months that he finished a practice and he didn't intend for it to be his last, but then came a tall lady with dark brown hair, chewing on a mint into the park. Alex wasn't very excited to see this person, because she was one of many causes keeping Alex away from his normal life.

"Hello Alex," the lady said politely, "How was your day?"

"Hello, Mrs. Jones," Alex said, "And it was fine until you came."

Mrs. Jones didn't seem offended or surprised by Alex's behavior, she knew he did not want anything to do with M-16 any more.

"Well, the M-16 has been struggling with a certain mission that would be a walk in the park for you," Mrs. Jones said.

"So…." Alex said rudely.

"So, we are requesting your permission to send you to the States," Mrs. Jones said.

"The States?" Alex asked, "That is out of our jurisdiction."

"The certain man behind the crime is a British citizen," Mrs. Jones said, "And the CIA wants to work with us to capture him."

"Forget it," Alex replied, "Not only do I not want to work for you, I do not want to risk my life, nor do I want leave England once more."

"You know Alex," Mrs. Jones said frustrated, "You are the only agent left and this is very important."

Alex just rolled his eyes and thought about leaving on the spot.

"The man we are after killed one of our best agents and he will not stop their, so if you help us not only will this man be brought to justice, and you will save several lives potentially at stake," Mrs. Jones said.

"I already told you, forget it!" Then Alex got up and started to leave the park.

"Alex," Mrs. Jones called, "There is one more detail I have for you."

"Look, Mrs. Jones," Alex said, "I am busy with a normal life."

"But if you listen to me, you'll never have anything to do with us again," Mrs. Jones said in a last-ditch effort to get Alex in the mission.

"This better be worth it," Alex said, "Or else I am leaving right now."

"The man we are after is in San Francisco."


	3. Rules and Regulations

**Chapter 3: Rules and Regulations**

Alex had not acknowledged the arrival of the weekend yet, nor did he think about his meeting with Mrs. Jones. When he did remember he slid on the banister to breakfast.

"Um, Jack?" Alex called to Jack Starbright, his caretaker.

"Yes, Alex?" Jack replied.

"I'm just going to have some toast for breakfast," Alex said, "I want to get a quick start today."

"Okay," Jack replied as if it was nothing new, "you know how the toaster works."

"Thanks," Alex said.

Alex's mind was racing as he spread the jam on his toast, which resulted in him pouring a little on his chemistry homework.

"Oh, let me get," Jack offered.

"No, it's okay," Alex said wiping off the jam and licking it off his fingers.

At this Jack made a face.

"Oh, sorry Jack," Alex apologized after realizing what he had done.

"No it's okay," Jack said, "I just thought the English were more elegant than an arrogant American like me, is all."

Alex raced through Chelsea to Royal General, a "bank" where the M-16 headquarters really were. As Alex approached it, he couldn't help but think about how funny it must be for pedestrians to see a young boy walk so excitedly into the dullest building in all of England.

"Hi, I need to see Mrs. Jones, please," Alex said to the short and old desk receptionist.

"Your name, please," the receptionist said in a sour tone of voice.

"Alex Rider," Alex carefully said.

"Down the hall to your left, seventh floor," the receptionist pointed towards the sign that said elevator: left.

When the elevator reached the seventh floor, Alex walked very fast to Mr. Blunt's office, where Mrs. Jones would be.

"Alex," Mrs. Jones greeted Alex, "Surprised you would come."

"Well, I was told not to tell this to anyone else," Alex said, "but Sabina is in San Francisco for protection.

"We know, but we have to keep you to some rules and regulations while you're in San Francisco," Mrs. Jones said.

Alex blinked at what Mrs. Jones said. Sure, they gave Alex instructions, but never rules and regulations.

"You see, the man we are after, David Wilkes, is a known fifty-caliber dealer, which is an illegal weapon in the state of California," Mrs. Jones explained, "and he is also international."

"What about the agent he killed?" Alex asked.

"The last time we sent out one of our agents after him, he tortured him," Mrs. Jones said.

"This is why you'll only have one visit with Ms. Pleasure," Mr. Blunt cut in, "here is you plane ticket and passport, your flight is tomorrow and you are known as Lyle Weeks to anyone who asks."

"What about Sabina?" Alex Asked, "Will she know what to call me just in case she blows my cover."

"Your visit with her will be in private," Mrs. Jones said, "but she doesn't exactly live in San Francisco. She lives about ten miles south in a suburb."

Alex nodded at all of this and thanked Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones, and then raced to Smithers' office.

"Good morning, Alex!" Smithers exclaimed, "Great to see you! How have you been my boy?"

"Great, thank you," Alex said.

"By the way, you still owe me a bike," Smithers said, "I 'm still holding you to it, you know that Alex."

Alex groaned under his breath after being reminded about his last mission, where he led several of men on a pursuit with the bike Smithers gave him as a gadget that Smithers had specialized for Alex to accompany him to revealing the truth about Damian Cray.

"Yes, I know," Alex said.

"Well let us get started," Smithers said, "This year we have a book with a tiny camera on its spine."

Smithers pulled out a huge book called: _World War II: A history._

"And the camera monitors a picture to this Ipod," Smithers said, "But when you plug the headphones in, it will look like you are listening to, for example, AC/DC, so it will look like you are a normal, multi-tasking teenager."

"And here is a pair of Oakley Sunglasses that are bullet-proof and when you put them on you can see what the camera on the book is monitoring while no one else can," Smithers told Alex. Alex was impressed by the gadgets Smithers had prepared, but no one knew that Alex would be coming today, so Alex was curious.

"How did you prepare these gadgets on time if no one expected me to come?"

"You always come, Alex," Smithers whispered as if it was a big secret.

"Now, when you use the scroll notch on the Ipod, you zoom in on whatever you are focusing on by turning the notch right and zoom out turning the notch left," Smithers explained, "and the glasses and book camera are easy enough to use, so good luck, Alex," Smithers said shaking Alex's hand.

"Thanks," Alex said.

"Until next time," Smithers said smiling as Alex walked out.

Until next time, Alex said to himself.

Until next time


	4. Limo Conspiracy

**Chapter 4: Limo Conspiracy**

**Authors note: There are some meaningless parts to extend the chapter otherwise enjoy, and thanks for the reviews.**

In the airport there was a lot of hustling and bustling. Since Alex had an hour and a half before he was scheduled to be picked up, he went into the gift shop to look around.

"Can I help you?" The cashier asked.

"No, I'm good," Alex replied.

The gift shop was very simple, stuffed with a lot of magazines, stuffed animals, playing and post cards. Alex looked at a very peculiar deck of playing cards entitled: Alcatraz Rules and Regulations Playing Cards. The title reminded him of what Mrs. Jones had told him the day before, but his mind also went in the direction of knowing about Alcatraz.

"Excuse me," Alex said to the cashier, "I was wondering about Alcatraz, and being from England, I hardly know about it."

"Well, it was the most notorious prison in America at one time," the cashier said, "It housed Al Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelly, but it was closed in 1963."

"Thank you very much," Alex said.

"Sure," the cashier simply replied simply.

Now Alex was not thinking about the dangers of the mission and went outside awaiting the CIA to pick him up, but that wasn't going to happen for about forty-five minutes, so Alex picked up a newspaper and started reading the headlines until he saw Sabina's dad's name in an article, but it was a meaningless article on a community crime wave, however, Alex wrote the name of the newspaper, _The Bay Area Press_, in a blank journal he had brought with him.

Thirty minutes later, a limousine arrived and the driver stepped out. He was dressed in a dull driver's suit, very short and stout and he showed no emotion on his face whatsoever.

"Follow me," the driver said in a thick Russian accent.

Alex followed him into the back where two people were waiting, a black man in a dark suit and sunglasses with an earpiece and a woman dressed in the same way except with black pants and a lightly colored blouse.

"Hello," the man said, "You must be Alex, pleasure to meet you." The man held out his hand and Alex shook it.

"This is Agent Connelly and I am Agent Hall," the man said as he pointed to the woman.

"As you know," Agent Connelly said, "We are after a .50 Caliber dealer named, David Wilkes. He is knowingly selling the weapons, which are illegal, and he has killed both a CIA and M-16 agent."

"So it is this is a very vital mission and we have very limited time," Agent Hall said.

"One of our witnesses is a writer at _The_ _Bay Area Press_," Agent Connelly said, "So we are going there tomorrow morning to ask-

But just then the limo swerved into a building and Alex heard bullets being fired in a machine-gun pattern.

"Take this," Agent Hall said, handing Alex a Glock 96.

"A gun?" Alex asked dumbfounded.

"Just take it!"

Alex breached the limousine door and started firing in the direction he heard the bullets coming from. After several minutes of hearing no gun fire, Agent Hall stood up and notified Agent Connelly and Alex that it was okay. Moments later police sirens came closer and closer, and then they arrived.

"What the hell is going on?" A disgruntled man with a badge around his neck and suit and tie on exclaimed.

"Agents Connelly and Hall," Agent Hall said, "CIA."

"What was going on?" The man asked.

"Several bullets were fired from the roof of the Hyatt Hotel across the street," Agent Hall said.

"What's the kid doing?" The man asked.

Agent Hall whispered something in the man's ears and the man seemed understanding to us, at least a little. Then the man asked, "Where is the driver?"

Agent Hall looked towards the limo.

The driver disappeared.


	5. Reunion Bomb

**Chapter 5: Reunion Bomb**

Alex was very tired after the day before. After whoever it was who tried to kill them, Agent Hall and Agent Connelly had no choice but to switch to a low-profile hotel a little south of San Francisco, and Alex didn't get sleep until two-thirty in the morning.

Alex looked over the crowd of people at the hotel restaurant and noticed Agent Connelly in the midst of the commotion.

"Late night?" Agent Connelly asked as he sat down at the table. It was the first time she directly spoke to Alex on something other than the mission.

"What?" Alex was a little confused at first, but quickly recuperated, "Oh, yeah, couldn't get sleep. Where's Agent Hall?"

"He is in the bathroom," Agent Connelly said, "Would you like something to eat?"

"Yeah, where's the waiter?" Alex asked.

"He is coming," Agent Connelly said, right on cue. Sure enough, a young man attended to their table. He had brown hair, a nameplate, and a polo shirt with the hotel's logo.

"Can I help you with anything else?" The waiter asked.

"Well, our nephew has joined us, and he would like to order," Agent Connelly replied. Referring to Alex as her nephew must have been the cover-up so Alex went along with it.

"Yes, I would like scrambled eggs, sausage, and orange juice, please," Alex requested.

"Okay," the waiter said after he finished scribbling on his note pad.

"Good morning, Lyle," Agent Hall greeted as said agent returned from the bathroom, "How did you sleep?"

"Okay," Alex replied, "How about you?"

"Not bad," Agent Hall replied.

Alex was relieved when his food came and attempted to shovel his food as politely as he could.

After breakfast, Agent Hall and Agent Connelly went into the parking lot and drove a black Honda to the lobby door and Alex got into the car.

When they got to _The Bay Area Press, _Agent Hall and Agent Connelly waked very quickly to the witness' work station as if the agents were being watched.

"Daniel Cole?" Agent Hall asked a tall, lanky man. He swiveled around in an ultimate state of surprise and nodded quickly in acknowledgement.

"Agents Hall and Connelly, CIA," Agent Hall stated.

"We are here to ask some questions about the suspicious man you saw a few days ago," Agent Connelly said.

"CIA?" Daniel Cole asked, dumbfounded. "I didn't know you dealt with drugs!"

"We do not believe that man was selling drugs, but .50 calibers," Agent Hall said as if he was informing Daniel Cole that one of his loved ones was dead. Alex knew that painful feeling.

"Does this match a description?" Agent Connelly asked unrolling a piece of paper which was a police sketch.

"That's as close as you can get," Daniel Cole replied.

"Thank you," Agent Hall said. "Did the man have anything with him?"

"No, just a stack of Jacksons in a rubber band," Daniel Cole replied. Alex knew that by saying Jacksons, he meant twenty dollar bills.

"Thank you, that's all we need," Agent Hall said. "Have a nice day."

As Alex was leaving with Agent Hall and Agent Connelly, a man stepped out of his work station.

"Alex?" The man said.

"Mr. Pleasure," Alex replied excitedly.

"How have you been, my boy?"

"Just fine," Alex replied, "How is Sabina?"

"She is fitting in nicely," Mr. Pleasure replied, "Who are you with?"

"Agents Connelly and Hall, CIA," Agent Connelly answered before Alex could open his mouth.

"Oh, see you still haven't stopped working for MI6," Mr. Pleasure sounded a little disappointed at this, "Do you have any plans?"

"No, not really," Alex replied, calming down.

"Well, how does lunch sound at my place?" Mr. Pleasure requested

Agent Hall and Agent Connelly were suspicious, but decided if they were to find anything else about this man it would be best to join him for lunch. Alex answered with a quick yes.

When Alex walked through the door of the Pleasures' new house, he was walking on air and got even happier when Sabina came down.

"Alex!" Sabina exclaimed and wrapped her arm around Alex's neck, nearly choking him.

"Sabina," Alex said. "I would like you to meet Agent Hall and Agent Connelly from the CIA."

Agent Connelly and Agent Hall shook Sabina's hand and smiled politely. Alex was enjoying his partners' compliance.

Lunch was very filling for Alex and he, Agent Connelly, and Agent Hall spent nearly four hours at the Pleasures' household. When they left, Alex's heart was very light and he was very cheerful, but all of this came to an end when he heard a loud explosion

Agent Hall was about to floor it when Alex said, "No! Turn around!"

The Pleasures' Household was swathed in flames.


	6. Not so Lucky After All

**Chapter 6: Not So Lucky After All.**

Alex was sore everywhere when he woke up. It seemed his heart had sagged to his thighs when he walked into the hotel restraint. When he sat down with the agents his body felt like an ancient skeleton ready to crumble when he touched something.

"Would you like some food?" Agent Connelly asked. "Looks like you had a rough night."

Alex shook his head. Talking was like moving his jaw after it was wired shut and eating would be like chewing carpet.

"The SFPD have put an abandoned warehouse near Fisherman's Wharf under surveillance." Agent Hall said. "They believe that is where David Wilkes' center of operation is.

"Lucky's surveillance has a good look in on our friend's troublemaking." Agent Connelly said. "We can get a better description of him if we go there after breakfast."

Alex simply nodded in reply. He had no clue about Sabina's condition and until he did, he always expected the worst.

The drive didn't make Alex feel any better. While being stranded in traffic he spotted a vendor shouting: "Journalist's House goes up in flames, read all about it!"

Alex dropped his head and took his I-pod out of his backpack he randomly decided to bring. AC/DC started blaring their most famous song, _Back in Black._

The sun started to get in Alex's eyes so he put on his glasses that Smithers gave him then a pitch black picture arrived on the monitor. Alex forgot about the book that had a hidden camera on the spine. Alex remembered it was a World War II book so he got it out of his backpack and opened it to the section about Finnish Ski Troops.

"Do you like World War II?" Agent Connelly asked.

Alex shrugged in reply and looked down at his I-pod and saw an image of the traffic in front of him. A woman in an over-priced Mercedes-Benz was arguing with her husband about something. Alex found this amusing because they way rich people acted in public was far different than what Alex was witnessing.

The car pulled up in front of Lucky's Surveillance Store and Alex got out slowly onto the gray sidewalk.

The agents walked into the store and Alex nearly winced at what was on the cashier's t-shirt. It said I-poo and the apple insignia was turned upside-down.

"Agents Hall and Connelly, CIA. Can we talk to the manager please?" Agent Hall asked the pimple-faced cashier.

"I am the manager," the cashier replied dully.

"Perhaps the owner, if he is available."

"Mr. Harris," the cashier's monotone voice was annoying Alex so he turned his I-pod on and read his book.

"Oh, CIA, what did I do this time," an elderly man laughed so hard that he coughed. "Excuse me, I'm Lucky."

"Why do they call you that?" Agent Connelly asked curiously.

"Got shot six times in two different wars and I still survived!" Lucky exclaimed while showing six Purple Heart awards on his wall.

Agent Connelly nodded and then Alex sat in front of the shop window and read his book while listening to his I-pod.

During the end of _Back in Black _Alex saw a siper setting up a .50 caliber on a hotel roof across the street.

"Duck!" Alex exclaimed while tackling Agent Hall and Agent Connelly into the back.

A spray of machine gun fire hit the shop window.

After the gun fire stopped a man barged through the door and Agent Connelly pulled Alex out the back. As soon as they escaped a single gun shot was heard.

Not so lucky after all.


	7. The Limo Driver

**Chapter 7: The Limo Driver**

**Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! **

Alex was now aware that Sabina survived, but her mother perished in the attack. A late-night phone-call from Sabina informed him of this and it hurt Alex more once he learned that the Pleasures had to move to Canada.

"We are going to live in Calgary, dad found a job there at a local magazine," Sabina sniffled. "I've got to go know, bye Alex."

Alex couldn't sleep at all that night. He couldn't stop thinking that all of his loved ones were murdered or severely hurt intentionally.

Alex was awakened at five o'clock by a continuous knock at his door. It was Agent Hall.

"Alex, get dressed!" Agent Hall demanded. "We're going to the warehouse."

As soon as Alex got out of his room he was bombarded with details.

"Agent Hall and I will go inside undercover." Agent Connelly said. "You are to stay inside the car." She handed him a Glock 96 with a silencer.

"If anything goes wrong go to the police," Agent Hall said. "Just tell them you were delivering papers when you heard the commotion."

Alex nodded and his heart started to pump. He had never been on a misson like this since he was working with Agent Carver and Agent Troy in Cuba. The result of that mission was the death of Agent Troy and Agent Carver, Alex was nearly eaten by a shark, and Alex was captured by General Sarov.

The early morning in San Francisco was so bitterly cold that Alex brought an extra pair of gloves to keep warm. It was also so dark that Agent Hall and Agent Connelly only appeared as silhouettes.

As soon as Agent Hall and Agent Connelly disappeared into the building Alex heard a thump on the roof of the car. He immediately jumped out of the car and the figure landed in front of Alex with a .44 magnum.

"Do you have any idea how much pain you have caused me?" The assailant screamed at Alex in a thick Russian accent. "I am Andris Gregorovich and you killed my brother!" Andris clicked the gun and then fell to the ground.

"Alex, run!" Agent Hall exclaimed holding his gun.

Alex did so though he did not know why, but moments later he heard gun-fire that sounded all too familiar. Another sniper was shooting at the agents, obviously attempting to kill them.

Once Alex got to the curb, a car braked, nearly hitting him. Then the window rolled down and a short and stout man appeared, he looked exactly like the limo driver that deliberately set the agents up to get killed

"Alex," the man said in a Russian accent, "What a pleasure to meet you!"

Alex looked back, but he did not see Agent Connelly or Agent Hall, then he thought about running for it, but the man interrupted again.

"You can try to run, but I have my men scouring the streets for you, but I feel for you. Let's take a ride."

Alex reluctantly got in and felt a lump in his throat; he thought he was most certainly going to die.

"Don't seem so afraid, Alex." The man said. "I don't bite."

Alex was even more afraid once he saw the man's counterpart: a large man with a Tec-9 on his belt.

"Don't be afraid of him either, he is just here to intimidate you," the man said. "By the way I am Sergei Lontikov, I work for Scorpia."


	8. A Lenient Killer

**Chapter 8: A Lenient Killer**

Alex was taken to a penthouse at a very fancy hotel. It seemed that every employee knew who they were.

"Mr. Lontikov, did you have nice afternoon," the busboy at the front said.

"Oh, yes it was very nice, how about you, Juan?" Sergei replied.

"Very well, sir," Juan stated politely.

"That's good."

Sergei took Alex to a private elevator where he remembered about the gun he had. The gun-shape in his pocket felt very soothing, but he did not show it.

Sergei remained quiet until he took Alex to the penthouse.

"I here you are a very exclusive agent, Alex." Sergei said, starting the conversation.

"It's not like I ever wanted to," Alex retorted, "I only did it to find more about my uncle."

"I couldn't blame you, I lost my parents at a very young age, too," Sergei sympathized, "You see Alex, I am a lenient killer, and I have upheld that reputation by giving you one more chance to join Scorpia."

Alex stayed silent, confident that he wasn't going to give up any information, and then he broke his silence.

"You bombed Sabina's house and you killed Agent Connelly and Agent Hall, too! Just so you could get me to work for you!" Alex's face became overrun by tears. "In that case…." Then Alex spit on Sergei's shoes.

"Boris, watch they boy while I go downstairs to get my shoes polished, make sure he doesn't move," Sergei said irritated.

"No problem, boss," Boris said with an even thicker Russian than Sergei's.

Alex sat with no emotion other than sadness, but became excited when Boris started to scratch at his privates.

"Bet you need to go to the bathroom, eh Boris?" Alex stated cleverly.

"Yes, you're right," Boris replied. "But don't even think about moving!"

"Oops," Alex muttered under his breath.

As soon as the bathroom lock clicked, Alex got up and slipped his bullet-proof sunglasses on just in case.

Once the door opened Alex took his gun and fired at Boris' head, then Boris fell to the ground and Alex barged out the door.

Once he was in the hall he saw Sergei in the way of his escape, so Alex ran in the opposite direction which led him to the roof.

With every panting breath, Alex became more tired and frustrated. His alternate escape led to a dead-end and a deadly trap.

"You know Alex," Sergei said, "If I was Mrs. Rothman, I would have killed you, but I gave you a second chance and know I am giving you a third, you can join Scorpia or die."

"I would never work for you, even if it meant my life!" Alex exclaimed boldly.

"Wrong answer." Sergei said.

A gun shot was fired directly at Alex and succeeded, sending him falling to a horrible death.

But a desperate hand held on to the third story ledge, sweating and slipping with every second……….


	9. Parting Gifts

**Chapter 9: Parting Gifts**

Alex was considering letting himself fall to an almost certain death, Alex remembered the chances of dying from falling off of the third floor was 90-10, and from the second floor was 10-90.

_Damn, I should've waited until the second floor,_ Alex thought. But then it would've meant a broken ankle.

He had already cheated death just moments ago. The Oakley sunglasses that saved him would be found on the ground by a pre-teen boy, who would gawk at the hundred-dollar pair of sunglasses until he found the left lens was shattered.

Alex took his chances by kicking in the second-floor window. As the glass fell to pieces, Alex jumped and landed swiftly on the ground only to find the befuddled vacationers staring at him.

"Don't move!" Alex exclaimed while pointing the gun at the vacationers.

"_No habla Ingles!_ One ofthe scared vacationers shouted, which meant 'I don't speak English!'

Then Alex said, "_No Meuve!"_

All of the scared vacationers nodded and Alex bolted out of the door, scared that someone might have heard him.

Once Alex ran out he saw Sergei waiting at the elevator. Alex shot out the camera perched above Sergei and then Sergei spun around only to be shot in the left arm.

"You killed Agent Hall!" Alex exclaimed, shooting Sergei in the right arm. "You killed Agent Connelly!" Alex shot Sergei in the chest. "And you hurt Sabina!" Alex shot Sergei in the head twice and ran to the stairs and ran to the lobby.

Alex sat comfortably at the MI6 headquarters. He was in a leather office chair in Blunt's office.

"Alex, do you remember when I told you, you would never have anything to do with us again if you went to the States?" Mrs. Jones asked.

"Yes and I'm holding you to it," Alex stated rudely.

"Well, before you go," Mr. Blunt said, "We would like to entitle you to 500,000 pounds." Alex was given a white, skinny envelope with Alex Rider on the front.

"You have served MI6 very well, and it is a shame you are leaving us," Mrs. Jones said.

Alex gawked at the envelope for a solid minute until Mr. Blunt said, "Smithers would like to see you."

Alex left, still staring at the envelope and then he walked into Smithers' office.

"Let's see, that's one-hundred and sixty-five pounds for the sunglasses," Smithers said, "And four-hundred and twenty pounds for the bike. How would you like to pay for that?"

Alex groaned again, but was quick to compromise. "I'll entitle you to Five-hundred and eighty-five pounds, tomorrow."

"That's my boy," Smithers said.

Once Alex was home he raced upstairs only to be stopped by Jack.

"Wait Alex!" Jack Called. " A girl and said she would like to meet you at Burger King."

"Who was it?" Alex asked.

"A girl named Sabina."


	10. Calgary

**Chapter 10: Calgary**

**Author's note: This Chapter may seem a little short, but it was the best I could do. Thanks for the reviews **

Alex rode his bike to the closest Burger King that he knew of, and found Sabina waiting near the back. She had several bandages and a crutch.

Jack had given Alex ten pounds for something to eat, but he was to excited to eat and his money got wet in the London rain anyway.

"Hey." Alex said. "Sorry about your mother. I bet I was the one who led Sergei to bomb your house."

"Sergei?" Sabina was dumbfounded.

"Long story," Alex replied.

"Well you had better tell me," Sabina retorted.

Alex let out a big sigh and started to explain to Sabina.

"Sergei works for a terrorist organization called: Scorpia. And his "colleagues" wanted me to join. When I did, I disobeyed them and they tried to kill me. But Sergei gave me a second chance. I refused this time and he tried to kill me again, but I had bullet-proof sunglasses that saved my life, then," Alex took a huge gulp here; "I killed him."

"You killed him?" Sabina asked.

Alex nodded slowly.

"Well, I guess that you might be a lot of protection for my dad and me when you come to Calgary."

"What?" Alex asked dumbfounded.

"Alex, I told you to come here because Dad and I would like you to come to Calgary." Sabina stated.

Alex stared at Sabina with his eyes wide open.

"Really," he rasped.

"Yeah" Sabina said. "We're just waiting for what you say."

"I'll have to check with Jack," Alex said, "But I'd love to."

"Great," Sabina sounded happier than ever. "Now let's get some real food. What do you have in mind?"

"Italian," Alex replied, remembering the joke Sabina had told him after he returned from Cuba.

Sabina gave Alex a hard punch in the ribs and Alex just laughed and smiled.

The sun was finally starting to appear.

I hope it's this way in Calgary, Alex thought.


End file.
